Project Management (/?präj?ekt/ /?manijm?nt): A temporary group activity designed to produce a unique product, service or result.

Whether we are managing ourselves, our children, or our work, we employ project management skills daily. It doesn't matter if you are in high school, college, or the work a day world, any task that has a beginning and ending is a project.

"A project?" You ask. "Yes." I reply. Cue dramatic music

End scene

It's important to recognize your skills as a Project Manager. In any environment, people ask us to evaluate ourselves and our skills. Often asking us to refer to activities or projects we've completed to illustrate. If you are interviewing for any position, you may hear: "Have you ever managed a project before?" If you are applying for admission, they may ask "Can you give me an example of your problem solving ability?" These questions are easily answered by considering your activities in terms of Project Management.

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There are 5 stages of Project Management:

1. Initiate
2. Plan
3. Execute
4. Monitor and Control
5. Close

Most importantly, your life, any life lived well, is not defined by routine. It is a collection of projects. What is your life's goal? This is undoubtedly the greatest project you can think of. Finishing school? Getting Married? Having a baby? Starting a business? Whatever it is, consider these steps to help you focus and transition your goal to reality.

Initiate

In this step, you are going to define what your project is. What will you focus on first? What does the situation look like now? Why are you selecting this project? What would you like the end result of the project to be?

Write Down your defined goal.

Plan

Steps - What are all of the steps you have to take to achieve a successful result? List everything.

Resources - What resources do you need? People? Money? Physical items? Opportunities?

Milestones – Set some milestone dates (small goals within the big goal) for achieving your goal. Remember that it’s important to reward yourself as you successfully reach each milestone; it’s the small steps that lead to achieving the overall goal.

Constraints – What could slow you down or prevent you from achieving your goal. Is it lack of money, family, or other commitments? Come up with a plan of how you can deal with any problems that may arise. While you can never plan for every problem, if you’re prepared for the most likely ones then they are less likely to throw you off track and prevent you from achieving your goal.

Write down your Plan.

Execute

Start following your plan, one step at a time.

Do it!

Monitor and Control

Often we do a lot of up front work, then forget to pay attention to our plan as we implement it. Ensure that you’re keeping track of your progress. When you achieve milestones, you can assess where you are and adjust the plan as needed.

If you happen to be off track, frequent monitoring can help you correct course quickly.

Keep a journal, post it on your blog, or photograph the milestones; whatever works for you.

Write down your progress!

Close

Celebrate the achievement of your goal.

Consider the steps that took you from start to finish and what you could have potentially done differently. All are learning steps for the next goal that you set.

Keep in mind that sometimes you may not achieve the original goal that you set out to achieve. Life happens. Enjoy the ride. Oftentimes you ended up in a much better place than you intended!

Approaching any project with the above steps will not only yield better results, but you can repeat the process again and again to your benefit. Even better? The results will be easily identifiable, and you now have a roadmap to describe to others how you attained success.

Happy Managing!

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